Schools failing to teach road safety, report finds

THE majority of primary and secondary schools have failed to implement road safety programmes drawn up by the National Safety Council (NSC), according to an international study.

The report is also critical of road safety education because of its lack of prominence, vagueness and poor training for teachers.

The EU-commissioned Rose 25 project uncovered little evidence that the highly praised “Be Safe” programme, which was devised by the NSC and sent to every primary school teacher, is being implemented. In addition, just 10% of second-level schools complete the “Staying Alive” programme.

The report, which examines the teaching of road safety education (RSE) to children in all EU member states, found that high quality teaching material, despite its availability, is not widely used in Irish schools.

“We believe that it has not had complete up-take at the schools because of lack of support and training for the teachers and also because of the low standing of RSE in the curriculum,” states the report.

It adds: “The most striking aspect of RSE in the Republic of Ireland is the lack of uniformity in opportunities to access RSE.”

The report which is due to be published shortly comes as figures show children under 17 account for over 8% of all fatalities in traffic accidents. According to the latest statistics, 27 children were killed and over 900 injured in accidents on Irish roads in 2003.

Most children’s first formal encounter with road safety is in primary school through the subject of Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) which was introduced into the curriculum in 1999. However, the report finds that specific teaching of road safety issues through SPHE is “not extensive”.

“The educational objectives of the subject are broad and, in our opinion, RSE is not as prominent as it should be,” states the report.

It also recognises that teachers have a great deal of material to cover within the SPHE syllabus. As a result, the report claims the teaching of road safety in primary schools is “generally brief ” and “even more vague in secondary schools”.

The report also notes that RSE does not feature highly in the in-service training of teachers for the two subjects which cover road safety.